Nine worlds of Norse myth, one road — and everything marching down it. Place towers freely instead of on a grid, counter armour, frost, fire and poison, and carry your progress from one run into the next.
Wardspire is deliberately lean: a few systems that interlock deeply. Every world teaches a new lesson — and demands an answer to it.
A real counter system
Five damage types meet resistances, armour and immunities. Spam a single tower and you hit a wall by world 4.
Free placement, no grid
No build slots: put your towers wherever there is room. The road itself stays clear — the rest of the field is yours.
Two paths per tower
From level 3 you choose: volley or precision, shrapnel or siege, frost or fire. Every choice changes the tower's role.
Several roads, one goal
Portals open one after another and merge. Each new road adds another stream — your coverage has to grow with it.
Glory, forge, armoury
Victories pay glory. In the forge you unlock towers and upgrade them permanently — every run feeds the next.
Endless, when 20 isn't enough
Endless mode never caps the wave count. A boss arrives every ten rounds, and your best wave is saved.
Arsenal
Eight towers, eight roles
None of them is an all-rounder. Pick one — the card beside it shows what it is meant for.
Scout of the palisade
Watchtower
Fast standard fire, cheap to build, available from the start.One of only two towers that hit fliers — and it mows down the rank and file everything else ignores.
Damage type
Physical
Targets
Ground & air
Unlock
From the start
Specialisations from level 3
Volley — fires at several targets at once.
Marksman — longer range, brutal critical hits.
Siege engine
Ballista
A heavy bolt with splash damage.Against dense hordes the most efficient thing in the arsenal — but it only hits what stays on the ground.
Damage type
Physical (area)
Targets
Ground only
Unlock
From the start
Specialisations from level 3
Shrapnel — wider blast radius against packs.
Siege — punches through armour, narrower radius.
Rune magic
Runestone
The only tower whose element you switch mid-game: frost or fire.That choice decides whether you stack burn damage or sidestep resistances.
Damage type
Frost or fire
Targets
Ground only
Unlock
In the forge
Specialisations from level 3
Cryomancer — rapid frost fire, constant pressure.
Pyromancer — locked to fire, but it burns far hotter.
Anti-armour
Harpoon Thrower
One hard single shot that cracks armour open.The clean answer to huskarls, trolls and golems — and a complete waste against hordes.
Damage type
Physical, armour break
Targets
Ground & air
Unlock
In the forge
Specialisations from level 3
Barbs — makes the target bleed, damage over time.
Penetration — ignores armour completely.
Control
Rime Totem
It doesn't attack a single target, it pulses in a radius.The only tower in the game that slows — and therefore hands every other tower more time to shoot.
Damage type
Frost (pulse)
Targets
Ground only
Unlock
In the forge
Specialisations from level 3
Permafrost — stronger, longer-lasting slow.
Frostburn — shorter grip, but noticeable damage.
Chain lightning
Storm Pillar
The bolt jumps from the target to the next one and loses force along the way.The tighter the pack runs, the more it gets out of them.
Damage type
Lightning
Targets
Ground only
Unlock
In the forge
Specialisations from level 3
Tempest — more jumps per shot.
Thunderclap — fewer jumps, far heavier impact.
Poison over time
Blight Totem
It stacks poison instead of killing outright.Superb against tough targets — and utterly useless against anything immune to poison.
Damage type
Poison
Targets
Ground only
Unlock
In the forge
Specialisations from level 3
Plague cloud — hits several targets at once.
Virulence — higher stacks, enemies rot faster.
Support
War Horn
It doesn't shoot at all.It raises the damage of every tower in range — and turns a good position into a great one.
Damage type
No damage of its own
Targets
—
Unlock
In the forge
Specialisations from level 3
Battle cry — stronger damage bonus in the radius.
Marching beat — adds a faster rate of fire on top.
Aid from Asgard
Favor of the Gods
Four gods stand with you in battle. Each favor is an active ability on a cooldown — you decide when and where.
planned
Thor
Mjölnir Throw
The hammer sweeps along the path through the enemy ranks — and strikes a second time on its way back.
planned
Skadi
Skadi's Hunting Ground
A snowstorm claims a stretch of the path: whoever crosses it is slowed and suffers for as long as the storm stands.
planned
Eir
Eir's Watch
For a brief moment her shield holds the gate — breakthroughs cost no lives. Called at the right instant, she saves everything.
planned
Odin
Odin's Gaze
His ravens mark the foe: marked enemies take extra damage from every tower. Save it for the boss.
Favor awakens with your deeds: the first victory over a world's final boss earns an offering (Blót) — and for offerings, the gods grant their favor.
All four are planned and not yet in the game.
Names and numbers may still change.
From difficulty Hard on, every upgraded tower also gains a rune socket.
From difficulty Hard
Runes
A tower at level 3 takes one rune and changes the way it fights. Socketing is free, swapping costs 25 gold.
Fire Rune
Hits set the target ablaze (35% chance).
Chain Rune
Shots arc to one more target. Marksman towers only.
Splinter Rune
Impacts shatter and catch the bystanders too.
Gold Rune
Kills by this tower grant 25% more gold.
Might Rune
25% more damage, 10% slower fire rate.
planned
Eagle Rune
Considerably more range at slightly lower damage.
planned
Haste Rune
Faster rate of fire at slightly lower damage.
planned
Crit Rune
More frequent critical hits.
planned
Blood Rune
Hits may leave the target bleeding.
planned
Poison Rune
Hits may poison the target.
planned
Headsman's Rune
Badly wounded enemies drop at once. Bosses do not.
planned
Soul Rune
The first hit on a boss returns one life.
Five runes are in the game. Seven more are planned and not included yet — their exact effect is settled during balancing.
Runes are unlocked in the forge. They only apply from difficulty Hard upwards.
Normal stays deliberately rune-free.
Replay value
Three difficulties
The campaign is built around Normal and fully playable there. The harder grades unlock once you have beaten Asgard.
I
Normal
The calibrated campaign: nine worlds, each asking more of you than the last. No runes.
plannedII
Hard
Tougher enemies, more randomness in the waves — and runes enter the game.
plannedIII
Nightmare
Announced wave mutators and a boss escort from the very first world.
The demo runs on “Normal”; Hard and Nightmare are still in the works. Endless mode comes with the full version, on every map.
Campaign
Nine worlds on Yggdrasil
Every world has its own biome, its own danger, and at the end of the twentieth wave a boss that punishes exactly what you neglected on the way there.
I
Midgard
Green meadow · realm of men
The lesson: hordes, one road, armour only late on.
Boss Jarl
II
Alfheim
Bright elven forest
A second road opens — and the first ravens come in over it.
Boss Elf Lord
III
Vanaheim
Marshes & fertile water
Few enemies, but heavy ones. Build for numbers and you stall here.
Boss ???
IV
Nidavellir
Dwarven mines · underground
Stone and ore. Turn up with the starter pair and you only scratch the plating.
Boss ???
V
Jötunheim
Mountains & rock
Giants, tight ledges, little space to build. Every position counts double.
Boss ???
VI
Niflheim
Ice, mist, frost
Ice trolls — and somewhere behind them, someone keeps patching them up.
Boss ???
VII
Muspelheim
Fire, lava, basalt
Nothing burns here any more. Build on flames and you watch them fizzle.
Boss ???
VIII
Helheim
Realm of the dead
Draugr split when they die. And what worked elsewhere leaves them cold.
Boss ???
IX
Asgard
Golden god-fortress · finale
Everything at once. Standing here means you learned every lesson of the eight worlds before.
Boss ???
What comes at you
Bestiary
Eight base types — plus elite ranks and random traits that make the same wave look different every time.
Raider
The backbone of every wave. Fast enough to hurt in numbers.
Berserker
Runs at the front, dies fast — if you catch him first.
Huskarl
Shield bearer. Without armour break half your field chews on him.
Völva
Heals the most wounded around her. Rare, but she decides waves.
Draugr
Breaks into two draugling when killed. A kill is never just a kill.
Raven
Flies straight over the switchbacks. Only two towers can reach it.
Ice Gryphon
The heavy flier. Anti-air stops being an afterthought here.
Ice Troll
Slow, armoured, unpleasantly tough. The reason the harpoon exists.
Then there is rank — the same creature, three steps harder:
Elite
Veteran
Einherjar
+ random traits: swift, armoured, regenerating, giant, frenzied
Wave 20
Nine final bosses
Every world ends on wave 20 with a boss of its own — and it has to fall. Let it through and the run is lost, no matter how many lives are left.
Midgard
Jarl
Alfheim
Elf Lord
?
Vanaheim
???
?
Nidavellir
???
?
Jötunheim
???
?
Niflheim
???
?
Muspelheim
???
?
Helheim
???
?
Asgard
???
The first two wardens we show — who comes after is not for this page to tell. The archive in the game, too, reveals a boss only once you have faced it.
Take a look
Gallery
The trailer and six shots from the game as it plays — click one for the full view.
About a minute and a half of gameplay — with sound.
Screenshot 1/9 · Midgard · upgrading mid-battle
Screenshot 2/9 · Alfheim · battle on the forest path
Screenshot 3/9 · Vanaheim · the horde closes in
Screenshot 4/9 · Nidavellir · fire and crystal underground
Screenshot 5/9 · Jotunheim · holding the highlands
Screenshot 6/9 · Niflheim · trolls in the eternal ice
Screenshot 7/9 · Archive · look up your towers
Screenshot 8/9 · Archive · look up your foes
Screenshot 9/9 · Nine worlds · three difficulties
Development
Where the game stands
Wardspire is a solo project. What is finished is on this page — the rest grows step by step, and you can follow it in the workshop notes.
Done
Content is in
8 towers, 17 enemies and all 9 worlds are built, animated and playable — including the roguelite meta layer and endless mode.
Now · v0.11.0
Demo & balance
The demo for Windows and Linux is built — it covers the first three worlds and will be released through Steam. Alongside it, the difficulty curve is being tuned, world by world on real playthroughs.
October 2026
Steam Next Fest
A public demo week with plenty of outside feedback.
November 2026
Release 1.0
Full version with all nine worlds, higher difficulties and the rune branch of the forge.
Roadmap
What comes next
The plan for the coming months, ordered by how close it is rather than by date. What is already finished is in the timeline above.
In progress
Demo and polish
What is actually being worked on right now.
Tuning the difficulty curve world by world on real playthroughs
Preparing the demo week for Steam Next Fest
Working in the feedback from the demo
Next up
More decisions in battle
The next big building blocks, once the demo is out.
Favor of the Gods is switched on: four deities, each with an active ability
Wave choice: two waves to pick from before each round — an armoured one paying double gold, or a fast one at the normal rate
The waves answer your play style: keep building the same kind of tower and more enemies arrive armed against exactly that
An adversary with a name and a face announces what is coming your way
With version 1.0
What 1.0 brings
Everything beyond the three worlds of the demo.
All nine worlds instead of the first three
The Hard and Nightmare difficulties
The rune branch of the forge with seven more runes
Endless mode on every map
Bosses with mechanics of their own on the higher difficulties — instead of just more hit points
Steam Cloud and achievements
A plan, not a promise: order and scope may still change. What is genuinely finished is in the timeline above.
Demo · on Steam shortly
Play the first worlds
The demo includes the first three worlds along with the forge and glory progression.
Feedback goes straight out from the pause menu via “Report a bug”.
Rough figures for the demo. 2D, no heavy effects — it runs on older machines too.
Minimum
Operating system
Windows 10 (64-bit) · Linux x86_64
Processor
Dual core, 2 GHz
Memory
2 GB RAM
Graphics
OpenGL 3.3 (integrated is fine)
Storage
500 MB
Recommended
Recommended
Operating system
Windows 11 (64-bit) · Linux x86_64
Processor
Quad core, 2.5 GHz
Memory
4 GB RAM
Graphics
Dedicated GPU for smooth 1080p
Storage
500 MB
Runs at 1080p with fullscreen, a frame rate cap and a low-power mode for weak graphics chips. Six languages: German, English, French, Spanish, Russian, Simplified Chinese.
